TedGriffith

U.S.-listed shares of U.K.-based AstraZeneca
AZN, -0.10%
closed up $1.24 to $30.64. The stock had been off sharply earlier in the session amid concern that the panel would reject the anti-cancer drug, called Iressa.

Some investors had grown pessimistic about the prospects for an Iressa approval after FDA documents raised questions about clinical testing of the drug. The FDA posted the documents on its Web site Monday, ahead of the advisory panel meeting.

But the panel's 11-3 vote in favor of Iressa as a treatment for advanced lung cancer appears to put the drug back on track for a near-term U.S. approval. The FDA typically follows the advice of its panels, which are made up of medical experts.

AstraZeneca's good news sparked a rally in the stocks of biotech firms that are developing drugs similar to Iressa.

OSI and ImClone are testing drugs that, like Iressa, are designed to disrupt the signals that fuel the growth of cancer.

The panel's recommendation was a much-needed victory for Europe's No. 2 pharmaceutical company. Analysts say AstraZeneca needs to get new drugs on the market because its blockbuster anti-ulcer drug Prilosec could soon face generic competition.

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